Once Upon a Red Moon
by Eien Kaosu
Summary: A taboo. A devastating error humankind had made, by creating these weapons. They'd struggled to destroy them after the most devastating war in history. Years later, they're back again... The firearms we know as guns. Crappy summary, bare with me. xP
1. P : The Forbidden Weapon

A/N : Hey people, it's me again!! You've prolly all forgoetten me by now, though. F7. Don't blame you if you did. Anyways, I'm back with another story!!! (And this one will actually be finished. Woot! (Hopefully)). A quick note, though. The main author of this is not me, but Glacier123(MS). This story is also posted on MMOTales by FirstKnight1, which is Glacier123. Thank you all for hearing my ramblings and enjoy!

Disclaimer : I, or any of my colleagues claim the right to MapleStory, for it is the property of Nexon, Wizet, Asiasoft etc. The guns used in this story belongs to their rightful companies. Some of the characters in this story are not created by me, but instead by my co-writers, who are mentioned in the next line. I do not claim ownership of these characters. This story is a mere fan tribute, and is not to be recreated for the likes of profit, or without the consent of myself (Hjiscool (MS), Heiji (MMOTales), Glacier123 (MS (Broa), FirstKnight1 (MMOTales), and AngelDevilHanyou (BloodyHanyou (MS)).

_**Once Upon a Red Moon- a MapleStory fanfiction**_

_**Prologue - **__**The Forbidden Weapon**_

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Guns. Illegal weapons in this world; deadly items banned for use. The law forbids these weapons of mass destruction. There were only ten in this world. Only ten, after the most devastating war in history. The other guns were destroyed, but all were meant to. Until one man, a reckless yet brave man, kept ten. He died mysteriously one day, and the ten guns remained hidden. Fifteen years of searching, nobody found them. Most believed they were stored in a vault; others thought those tools of devastation perished from the earth. Nobody knew. Due to the lack of knowledge of the placement of the guns, a law was enforced. A law that banned the use of guns, if ever found. Killers and assassins sought for these weapons, and I found one. I didn't want to. I was forced to see it, to find it, to witness its action. I even used it.

What made me use it? Hunger for power? Reaction without thinking? I keep asking that question to myself. I wanted answers. I needed answers.

My name is Kazuki, and my life was perfect. I had a perfect lifestyle. My friends admired me. My fitness abilities overwhelmed everybody else's. My grades reached the top in my school. Everybody wanted to be like me: a perfect person. But, everyone was wrong. I was wrong. I wasn't perfect. My life wasn't perfect. I noticed I lived in a world of lies. That day, everything changed. That one day…

I commuted to school as always, everyone greeting me on the way. Neighbors, teachers, friends, even strangers greeted me. I walked to my first period classroom, combat class. My favorite class of all, because I excelled in that class and sparring with my classmates gave me excitement and honor. Also, I liked my teacher. She did not show any combat skills at all, nor never fought in front of us before, but her teachings all showed complexity and knowledge of fighting. Her lessons gave us challenge, and I faced any challenges given to me. Yes, I am a Cleric that loves combat. Nothing wrong with it, is there?

That day… changed everyone, especially I. Those five minutes changed my entire life. This is what happened. A girl in my class who carried the name Sarah always hated the combat class teacher, my favorite teacher. She hated her for giving her low grades. Once, my teacher called Sarah a no-talent fighter, and she grew infuriated. Sarah sent hate letters to her on that day, and even death threats. My teacher felt petrified with fear. She did not know who sent all of them. Nobody knew, until that horrifying day. My teacher was clueless of who the perpetrator was, nobody did, not even myself. But on that day, that dark day, it happened. We all found out the perpetrator. Sarah. Gosh, I hated her. I loathed her. The detestation grew in me when I saw the blood all around the room, on Sarah, on my shirt. And worst of all, my teacher. She lied in a pool of blood, her own blood.

She wielded a gun. Yes, a gun. The weapon of mass destruction, forbidden armament by the law. Why did she have one? How did she have one? Confusion cluttered in my brain; my head felt dizzy, and it also hurt. Very badly. I looked down, due to the pain. My eyes widened. Blood on my shirt. My teacher's blood, everywhere. With horror, I looked around. I didn't see anyone, except for Sarah and the corpse of my teacher. I focused my attention to Sarah and her weapon. Sarah was laughing maniacally, despicably grinning from ear to ear, filthy with malice, her laughter echoing throughout the sparring area. She was completely crazy, insane. Hot, transparent tears welled up within my eyes, fogging up my vision. Slowly, they rolled down my cheek, one by one, landing on my blood-soaked shirt. Why did she kill my teacher? Why did she need to? I needed to heal my teacher. There was a slim chance she could still survive. But, no. Something dreadful happened. Various emotions controlled me. Hatred, confusion, sadness… The variety of emotions consumed me whole, a grave mistake that became the biggest flaw I've made in my life.. I should have controlled it. If I did, this would've never happened. But I couldn't. This feeling of revenge won. I lost to myself, I lost to the emotion. And finally, I did it. I did what people would never imagine. I did what the world did not imagine I can do.

Without thinking, I dashed at Sarah. She recoiled, pondering what was happening. Even I did not know; I was berserk. Rage and the hunger for revenge blinded me. I saw her point the gun at me. I didn't care. I still charged at her. She shot again, but it missed, because she was shaking. Maybe my facial expression brought her extreme fear. Anyways, I kicked her arm which had the gun, and she dropped it. I quickly grabbed it, and terror struck her. She fell back. I knew what she was thinking. She knew what was going to happen. She was going to die, and I was going to be the murderer.

Sarah was on the floor, and I held the gun. Both of us did not speak. We communicated with our emotions. I pointed the gun at Sarah. I readied to fire. Suddenly, something told me not to shoot her, to just let this be. Something told me to not kill her, to let her go. I did not listen. Thrive for revenge won. I shot her. Her corpse laid beside my teacher's, her eyes wide open. I breathed hard and regained sanity. I looked at the two corpses. I fell on my knees.

I held the gun tightly, and looked at my teacher's corpse. Dreadful. The blood stopped drifting throughout the room, but the view was horrifying. I could not hear her breathe. The bullet struck her heart. She was no longer alive. She was dead. Healing won't save her now, and when I gained my sanity back, I noticed that. I was too late. I had to grab that gun, get revenge. Why, why, why? My teacher could have been saved if I healed her. I took the wrong path, thus changing my life forever.

I ran from the classroom. I ran, as fast as I can, gun hidden in my blood-stained clothes. I ran and ran and ran, not thinking of where to go. Just go far away, I thought to myself. Just go far away so I won't get caught.

I stopped at a deserted parking lot, and sat on top of an old, damaged car. A horrifying idea struck me. People know me as Kazuki, and probably most of those wanted posters that I assume will be posted all around the town will have my name on it, so I should also think of a fake name. I looked up at the dark, endless sky. A red moon. Its light reflected off the crimson fluid covering me, the iron scent noxious. A red moon. Red, the color of blood. I tore my vision away from it, disgusted. Then the idea of a name popped into my mind. From the red moon I saw, I decided to name myself Akatsuki.

I heard someone shouting at me. Not the person I really wanted to meet at this moment: a police officer. He probably saw my blood-stained shirt, and is coming over to check what happened. Immediately I got off the car, and retreated. From the action I took, my gun fell out of my pocket by accident. I hurriedly picked up the gun, and darted. The policeman told me to stop, but I continued running. Tears welled up in my eyes, as I sprinted across the endless road in the night.

After several days, everyone found out the truth. Everybody hated me now; I was no longer a perfect man. I became a drifter, still wielding that gun, to evade situations like this ever happening again. People labeled me as a gunslinger or a murderer, and people called me as the "Devil's Disciple" or "The Cleric Who Favors Death". I loathed these nicknames. I hated myself. This would have never happened if it was not for this gun. This gun brought me misery, and anger. This weapon should never have been created.

My name is Kazuki, and my life is imperfect.

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A/N : Once again, hope you guys enjoyed it! I know I sure did, when I first read it!


	2. C1 : A place to call home

_**A/N :** **Thank you to HonestNinja123 for adding this story to favorites, and Sg for the review! Oh, and Sg, this story isn't about the Pirate class, sorry to disappoint you. Infact, when this story was first created, we were unaware of the addition of the Pirate class. Also, sorry about the mistake in FirstKnight's name. I realized shortly after that the name didn't have 1 after it, and was only "FirstKnight". Gomen! **_

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_**Disclaimer : Found on the Prologue.**_

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I have no friends now. Worst of all, I have nobody to talk to anymore. Every person I know hates me. They think I lied. They think I lied about my talent, my abilities. They assume I was born to be a killer, to be a gun wielder, and murder. I wanted to prove they were wrong. I wanted to show them I'm not evil.

I walked around the town of Henesys, wandering around and looking for something to do. I hid my identity by wearing a white fedora hat, a polo shirt and blue jeans, wearing blue-colored shades. I dyed my hair red. I wore a wristwatch that can both tell time and protect my wrist, and also wore black shoes. I looked in a shattered mirror in the alley, and evaluated my look. An absolute strange greeted me from within the mirror. I smiled when I saw my new look; I loved my new appearance.

When I walked around the town, I stuffed my left hand in my jeans pocket, and used my right hand to cover my eyes with the fedora hat; some people could tell others by their eyes, so I became cautious with that issue. As I drifted around the whole town, I noticed the place was extremely peaceful. No fights went on anywhere; merchants were being kind to their customers; everybody greeted each other. I went through the market, interested in most of the merchandise. One item caught my attention: a necklace. The silver was in shape of a sword, and it had a representation of a cross in the middle of it. 15,000 mesos, the label said. I checked my wallet. I had 25,000 mesos. I thought about this. The necklace is really appealing, and I really wanted it, but I will only have 10,000 mesos left. What will I do for living, for food? I kept thinking for a few minutes. The merchant just stared at me.

"Thank you for shopping!"

I decided to buy the necklace. I wore it around my neck, and excitedly dashed to the alley to look at the shattered mirror again. I arrived, and looked into it. The necklace matched perfectly with my outfit. My smile grew wider, and I stared at myself for a while. My appearance changed by a lot… I liked it. I looked like a different person.

I walked out of the alley with enthusiasm; my new name, my new look, they all satisfied me. As I approached the exit of the alley, I noticed something. From a building, streams of ice flowed onto the concrete floor. It started forming letters. S… O… S… SOS! Immediately I dashed towards the building. I twisted the doorknob. Locked. I closed my eyes, and did a hand gesture. Two claws struck the door, and the door broke. I ran inside.

Within the building, there were approximately thirty people and I also saw two people on the floor with ropes around their wrist, and cloths on their mouths. I couldn't see their gender clearly; I was too far away. They looked at my direction. They probably found out about my invasion when I broke that door. Darn, I should have not used Magic Claw back then. They took out varieties of weapons: swords, throwing knives, daggers, bows and arrows… and prepared to attack me. I took my fighting stance, and dashed towards them.

I started by kicking an assassin in the stomach, then punching a warrior on the face. I knew I couldn't penetrate warriors' armors, so I aimed at their weak spots. A bandit attempted to strike me with his dagger, but I dodged it swiftly and elbowed him. This pattern of evade-and-attack continued for a few seconds, until five enemies remained.

The hostages watched me with amazement, observing my fighting technique with wide eyes. I came close to them, so I could find out who the hostages were. One was a guy, and judging from appearance, about fifteen years old, my age. The other hostage was a girl, also around fifteen years old. I continued to focus on the fight, and I accidentally evaded a throwing knife that aimed towards the hostages. It scratched the girl's shoulder, causing her to emit a gasp in pain. I couldn't really hear it clearly. I immediately dashed to her, and healed her shoulder. A man tried to ambush me but failed; I quickly chanted Magic Claw, htting him directly in the chest. He collapsed to the floor. I aimed at the second man, the Magic Claw also hitting him. He fell beside the first man. Immediately, the remaining three charged at me, all at once. One was an archer, who tried to stun me by attacking using not an arrow, but his bow. Next was a bandit, his dagger stained with blood- The final man was a warrior, but this time, not only his body but also his face was covered with armor. I teleported behind them, causing the bandit to look around in confusion, his target lost. As soon as he turned around, however, I kicked the bandit in the face, resulting in him skidding back a rather long distance. The bowman swung his bow, but missed. He stepped back, and prepared to shoot an arrow at me. I teleported again, but this time, backwards. I made a gesture like holding a bow, and concentrated my energy into my arms. An arrow produced, covered in light, aimed at the bowman. I shot it, paralyzing him- He fell to the floor.

'Two down, one to go.' I thought, but I had a feeling this final fight will be troublesome. How will I penetrate his armor? I shot a couple of holy arrows at that warrior, but his armor deflected my arrows. Suddenly, an idea struck me. I began to lash out with Magic Claw, continuously aiming the electric blue magic at one spot on his armor. Again and again, I attacked. He charged at me, laughing, telling me it's useless, but I kept on continuing. After several dozen attacks, the Gods finally began to smile upon me. A crack had formed where the Claws have been aimed. I rapidly sprinted towards the warrior, and kicked his armor as hard as I could. As expected, the armor demolished. I followed through with a punch to the stomach. He was thrown forcefully against the wall from the power of the blow, quickly elapsing into unconsciousness soon after. I did it. I'd defeated everyone in the room.

I walked towards the hostages, who stared at me with astonishment. Like any other sensible person would, I freed them from the grasp of the ropes which bound them, via Holy Arrow. The girl, after removing the cloth used to gag her, suddenly charged up and hugged me with great force, causing me to stagger back a bit. She then proceeded to sob her eyes out. The guy wiped away tears of gratitude. "Thank you for saving us!" they cried in unison.

We walked out of the building, both of my hands in my pockets, and immediately their attention were locked onto me. The boy, with his short, brownish black hair and his dark, innocent-looking eyes, and the girl, with her long, jet-black hair and her shining eyes, introduced themselves to me before I could ask. The boy was first.

"My name is Francis," he said, his hand held out infront of him. I gladly shook his hand, "I'm a fire and poison wizard. I'm also a monster anthropologist. I study the lifestyle and cultures of a species of monsters. Nice to meet you!"

"My name is Madeline," the girl spoke next, and hugging me for the second time. "Thanks again for saving us again! I'm a wizard of ice and lightning, and I'm an assistant for my brother's work. I'm also an artist; I draw the monsters my brother studies. I have a whole book full of monster drawings!" She released me, and stepped back. They both smiled at me, and I smiled back. Suddenly, Madeline asked, "And you, who are you?"

I answered while smiling, "Oh, my name is Kazu-Akatsuki. Akatsuki. Nice to meet you both!" I fixed my fedora hat. Madeline kept staring at me, along with Francis. The latter then suggested something, that surprising me. "Well, you saved us both, so we owe you. Where do you live? We can give you something in return, if we find something…"

I quickly replied, "I don't have a home. I'm a drifter. And you guys really don't know who I am, right?" Good, that means the disguise is working. "Well, if I tell you guys, will you two keep it a secret?" They both nodded. "Okay. Well, here I go. I'm the gun wielder." To prove my point, I showed them the gun. They stared at the weapon, then me, and then back at the gun. A couple minutes later, Madeline snapped out of her trance.

"We don't care if you're the most evil guy on earth," She said, "you still saved us. And, if you don't have a home, you can live at ours! It's the least we can do, right, Francis?"

I bet Francis had something on his mind at that time; he didn't respond. "Francis?" Madeline asked, poking him on the shoulders. "Oh, huh? Oh, right… sure, of course Akatsuki can stay! We are friends, right? And he saved us; we owe him lots! So, let's go home now?" They both continued to smile at me, and I smiled back. Happiness surged into me; I had friends now. They cared for me. They didn't mind if I was the gunslinger, the murderer.

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"Wow, this is a nice house!" I exclaimed with astonishment. Their home was like a regular family's home, but it was very clean. All their furniture and work materials were neatly placed on desks and cabinets. Everything looked so organized. "Do your parents live with you?" I asked.

Francis looked down at the floor. Madeline, tears welling up in her eyes, answered in a barely audiable voice. "Our parents passed away recently, but we don't know why… They just disappeared." No longer able to hold back the urge, she started weeping. Tears fell from Francis' eyes, as well.

I mentally kicked myself. I shouldn't have asked. They were doing me a favor, and now I've rubbed salt into their wound. They gave me a roof, friendship, and I let them down so quickly.

"I should have not asked… I'm sorry…" I apologized sincerely. I bowed, causing my fedora hat to fall. My red hair shone.

"It's okay…" Madeline replied, sniffing. "Don't worry about it! But, right now I need a nap… I'm so exhausted!"

We started talking during dinner. Madeline served spaghetti, and I got 3 servings.

"I haven't eaten anything this good for so long! This is delicious, Madeline!" I complimented. She flushed a bright, fire truck red, stuttering a quiet "Thanks". A few hours after dinner, fatigue began to kick in.

"Where shall I sleep?" I asked, yawning.

Francis answered very quickly, "Oh, sleep on my bed; I can sleep on the sofa."

I declined his offer politely. "No, I will sleep on the sofa, or even the floor. I am the guest, after all."

We bid each other good night, and left to our sleeping quarters. Today's events ran through my mind. I smiled to myself, I was so glad I helped them. I was so glad to have a friend, a home. From this day forward, I knew my life was going to improve, and become much better. Madeline and Francis- They were the keys to my new life; the beginning of a new journey.


	3. C2 : Blue Enigma

_**Disclaimer : Found on prologue.**_

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_**Blue Enigma**_

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_I ran. I ran, my face twisting into a look of sheer horror. I looked back- The man was still there. His face was shown vaguely due to the darkness. I continued to run without thinking, fear dominating my mind. I looked back once more. The sillhouette pulled out a weapon. A few seconds later, it occured to me, crashing down like a tsunami. He was holding a gun. He aimed at me, and pulled the trigger__…_

I woke up abruptly; the terrifying nightmare awakened me. I was lying down on a sofa, with a blanket. I didn't recall having a blanket, though. Probably either Madeline or Francis put a blanket over me overnight. I yawned, and checked the time. 7:30, still early. I attempted to resume sleeping but I smelled something- Something good. I stood up. I walked towards the kitchen, lured by the delectable aroma of breakfast. Madeline was cooking, and I greeted her good morning. She greeted me back with a smile on her face. I requested if I could help her with anything, and she asked me if I could help her set the table, and so I did. Madeline called for Francis, and he arrived in his pajamas. We all ate breakfast heartily. Those pancakes and bacon were extremely delicious; one of the best breakfasts I ever ate. I did not leave any leftovers, not even pieces of pancakes on the plate.

Francis stood up, thanking his sister for breakfast. Immediately, he turned his attention to me. He smiled. "I'm going to the swamp to gather some research today, Akatsuki-kun. Would you like to come?" He asked.

"Sure," I said, "I'd be honored to go to work with you."

Madeline stared at Francis in confusion and something I did not recongise. I disregarded it, however. It's probably nothing. "Of course, I am coming too right?" she said.

"About that..." He started sheepishly. "I don't think it would be a good idea for you to go... It's rather dangerous there."

"Don't worry about me, I can protect myself," she insisted, "and I want to draw the monsters and collect specimen from the monsters at the swamp."

"Why can't she come? She is your assistant, after all. And, if she gets into any trouble, I can heal and protect her," I smiled, throwing in my two-cents worth as well. Madeline blushed, and nodded. We both stared at Francis in anticipation. Sighing, he finally relented.

"Alright... Be careful, though."

As we walked through the swamp, I observed my surroundings carefully. No harmful monsters were seen, but the environment gave me a spooky feeling. I looked towards Madeline, she was staring at her brother's back, as if examining something. We continued to hike in silence, stopping occasionally so that Francis could take a sample, or so Madeline could quickly sketch something down. After a while, I became confortable with my surroundings, and occupied myself by looking at the monsters we'd past by.

We'd stopped for a short break, which I spent by stretching a little and glancing at my watch. It had been a few hours since we'd left the house. I looked off into the distance and squinted, due to the poor lighting. About a less than half a mile or so were the first signs of Crocos. I turned around to warn Madeline, but was instead greeted by the sight of a beam of ice, charging towards Francis. It missed, and struck a near-by Ligator instead. Both myself and Francis turned to look at her in shock.

'Wha...? What was going on?' I thought to myself, unable to tear my vision from the ice mage. She was scowling, glaring suspiciously at her brother.

I finally tore my vision off of Madeline and turned towards Francis, who was looking at her with sheer surprise.

"...M-...Madeline...?" He managed to squeak out.

"You're not my brother, Francis." Madeline stated in a no-nonsense sort of tone, her facial features displaying how serious she was. Her words were as cold as the ice she had manipulated. A chill went down my spine, even though the words had not been directed at me.

"What do you mean?" He asked, backing up a step from his sister. "If I'm not your brother, who else can I be?"

Her answer was quick and to the point. "An imposter, of course. You can't be my brother. You're very different from him. Starting with your height... Francis nowhere as tall as you. Also, the way you move and how you act were dead giveaways, as well. I'd never seen Francis struggle while taking a plant sample, before."

He stared at her for a short while, before a tiny smirk blossomed upon his lips, growing wider. "I supposed there's no use for me to hide it, then. I'm surprised you didn't notice sooner... Unless your brother is prone to having growth spurts of a couple inches once every couple of nights." He spoke, voice huskier than Francis, but baring a smoothness most cannot achieve.

"I noticed since this morning, thank you very much. I just chose not to reveal it."

"Touche."

His hand made its way to his chin, and he promptly tore off the flesh mask and wig he was wearing. Light steel-blue hair tumbled down, falling just past his shoulders and over his right eye. Aquamarine blue eyes glimmered and danced with mischief. Because of the dim lighting, though, I could only see him vaguely.

Madeline and I just continued to stare at the imposter.

He sauntered towards me with cat-like grace, that smirk never leaving his lips. Soon, he was directly infront of me, bet down just a bit so he could look me in the eye. "You're the gunslinger, desu ka?" He asked.

Horror suddenly struck my mind and heart; how did he know? "Who... who are you, and how do you know that?" I asked, trying to sound indifferent. My voice disobeyed me, however, trembling in terror.

"No one special." He replied nonchalantly. "But, by the looks of it, my hunch proves to be correct."

I recoiled, still horrified with the sudden question. I looked towards Madeline. Tears had wellen up in her eyes as she opened her mouth to speak.

"Where is Francis? What have you done with him?"

"Oh, your brother?" He scoffed. "I left him somewhere. Dun remember where."

Madeline started running, shouting Francis' name. I still stood still, panicking- How did this guy know my identity?!

"What is your name... and how do you know that I am the infamous gunslinger? Tell me!" I shouted. A small chuckle escaped from his lips. He looked to be absolutely amused.

"Hj Kaosu. And, about the second question..." He winked. "That's for me to know, and you to find out."

I stood still, staring at the mysterious man. Hj Kaosu... Suddenly, the trance broke, and I remembered about Madeline. I promised to protect her. I ran to look for her, leaving Hj behind.

"Ne, ne, it's rude to ditch people." He whined. It wasn't hard to figure out that he'd followed me, purposes unknown.

I continued to find Madeline, but failed. I could not hear her nor see her. She probably teleported far away in search of her brother. I sighed, my head falling in disgrace. How could I let this happen? I promised to protect her.

I heard a yawn behind me. There was no doubt that it was Hj. "She should give up." He spoke indifferently. "I just remembered where he is."

I grabbed the collar of his shirt. He smiled. "Stop playing around!" I shouted, "Now tell me where Francis is, right now!"

Because he was taller than me, it proved to be a bit more diffcult than I thought it would be. He did not struggle, however. "But where would the fun be in that?"

Slightly annoyed, I produced a holy arrow, aiming directly at Hj. The arrowhead pointed towards him. "Tell me where he is..." I threatened.

He yawned again. "I'll give you a clue. He's still on Victoria."

"What kind of clue is that?! Be more specific!" My patience wore thin, and little by little, I began to release the arrow. Finally, I gave up, and made the arrow disappear.

"Please..." I begged, "just tell me where."

He scoffed once again, this time in disgust. "You're pathetic." He stated bluntly.

I could not take it anymore; I started a hand gesture, then aimed the Magic Claw directly at him.

He allowed the attack to hit him. "Violence isn''t going to get you anywhere, mon ami."

I surrendered this matter. I needed to find Francis, but I also needed to find Madeline. And, this guy's really strong, judging by the fact that he's completely unscathed even after providing a stationary target to my Magic Claw. He isn't ordinary... he also knew about my true identity. I sprinted, in search for Madeline and Francis.

"Ne," He called out to me before I was out of earshot. "Y'know, it's quite pointless to wander around aimlessly, searching for a person. More like searching for a needle in a haystack, rather." He said matter-of-factly.

I pretended to ignore him, but I couldn't. "There's nothing else I can do," I replied, "but to search for them myself."

"I said it wouldn't be fun if I just told you, not that I wasn't gonna show you where he is, eventually." He muttered. "Killjoy." He sighed, and walked off, not bothering to check if I was following or not.

"Alright, you win. What do you want me to do in order for you to tell me?"

He said nothing, and continued to walk in the same direction. I dashed into the direction of Hj, and grabbed his shirt. "I know you're not just an ordinary person... you know my true identity. Isn't that why you disguised as Francis? To meet me? Here I am now. What do you want?"

"I thought you wanted to find Francis." He replied. "So why are you stopping me?"

"Yes, I need to find Francis... but I really need to know who you are. You disguised as him to lure me, I know that part. I want to know the reason why, I want to know the reason how you know me."

He sighed, and pointed ahead. On a single plaform a whiles away, a single being layed there. Even with the distance, I could tell he was tied down by rope or the like. "I'm leading you straight to him."

Was it my persistant persuation? Was it because I annoyed him? I didn't know the answer- Frankly, I didn't care. He told me where Francis is, he actually helped me. He didn't seem so bad after all, but I'm judging this all too quickly. Then, realization dawned upon me. He'd led me straight into the heart of Sleepywood dungeon. Dark and Mixed golems marched beneath us. Hj continued walking, ignoring the giant stone-made guardians surrounding him. I hurriedly ran towards Francis. He was unconscious. I tried to wake him up, but he didn't. I looked towards Hj. He was going somewhere. I untied Francis, and left him for awhile. I followed Hj. He stopped infront of a plant, and carefully plucked a leaf from it. He then made his way back to Francis and placed the leaf over his heart. Within a couple of seconds, Francis had woken.

"Ugh... where am I?" he said, as he rose. I helped him up.

"Sleepywood," I said, "This is where Hj brought us. I'm sure there's a reason though. Where is Madeline...?"

"Hj? Who is Hj?" Francis asked softly. He raised his hand.

I bowed. "Well anyways, thanks Hj, for telling me the location of Francis. I still don't know your true identity, but one day I will find out. Now we need to go find Madeline, so see you around."

I was about to leave before Hj had grabbed me by the arm and forcefully pulled me towards him. Before I can react, he'd reached into my pocket and pulled out the gun in my possession. I froze. He inspected it for a second. "Hmmm... A revolver... Remington Model 1858, ne? A true beauty indeed. The last one of the Remington company, too."

I hurriedly grabbed the gun back. "What are you doing?! You know how dangerous this is?" I put the revolver back into my pocket. "And how do you know the model? I didn't know, by the way."

Wordlessly, a black object slid out of his sleeve. He pointed it at me, far enough only for me to see what it was. A gun. He was a gunslinger as well. My eyes widened. "Beretta 92FS." He introduced. "9mm semi-auto, 17 round magazine."

I remembered my dream. The silhouette with the gun. I recoiled with great horror. Suddenly, I heard a voice from behind me. "Akatsuki! Francis!" It was Madeline's. She found us. She ran towards Francis and embraced him. I still recoiled from Hj. He smirked, and slid the weapon back into his sleeve.

"I suppose we're collegues, non?"

I did not notice I was on the floor. Madeline and Francis just stared blankly at me, Hj still smirking. I tried to stand up, but my shock was still too great. I was also afraid that he was going to shoot me. Even though he put back his gun, I still stayed cautious. He stood up and brushed invisible dust off his clothing. Hj immediately grinned brightly.

"Now, that was fun, wasn't it?" He chirped.

I stood up quietly, and walked towards Madeline and Francis. I reached them, and spoke quietly.

"Let's go home... quickly!" I started running. Both of them followed me in confusion. I ran blindly away from Sleepywood, caring less about anything else. I needed to get away. I needed to get away from him as fast as I could. the thought of another gun wielder petrified me, sending chills through my body. I had to get away... I need to.


	4. C3 : Kill or be Killed

A/N : Hey everyone, it's me again! With another chapter of OUaRM, nonetheless! Thank you, Cresent Moon Magic, Chaos Assassin, and last but not least, Loli-Punk-Dreams for the Story/Author/Alert/Favorite's:D Cookies for you all! If I forgot anyone, I'm very, very sorry. I've not a very good memory... Anyways...

Velocidrome - Thank you for the constuctive critism! You deserve a cookie, too!

Loli-Punk-Dreams - Thank you for the compliments, we'll try our best!

Now, without further ado, on with the story!

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Disclaimer : Found in the Prologue.

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Once Upon a Red Moon - A MapleStory Fanfiction.

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Chapter Three- Kill or Be Killed

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I could not sleep that night- Thought about the mysterious man, Hj Kaosu, kept me up all night. I remembered his expression on his face when he saw my gun, and when he showed me his. Another gunslinger... I also kept remembering the dream I had- More like a nightmare, frankly. Was he going to kill me? Did he intend to? I did not know. All these questions ran through my mind, and not one I could answer.

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Akatsuki woke up to a noise of sorts. His eyes flickered open lazily, and glanced at the clock. 10:30.

'Darn.' He thought. 'I slept in too late.' His brain finally began to focus, and categorized the noise as the squeal of many, many girls. He blinked. 'Wait... What?'

"Aka-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!!!!"

Suddenly, a head of light blue hair popped into his view. Hj. The blue-head was grinning brightly. Because of the better lighting, he was more than just vaguely shown, unlike the previous day. He sported a white silk Chinese-styled vest with a lilac colored sweater on top of it, loosely hanging off his shoulders. The sleeves were cut off at mid upper arm but the rest was connected with two strips of leather. He also wore a long, beige scarf. A silver chain dangled from the washed denim cargos he wore- He looked to be a teenager, possibly only a few years the elder of Akatsuki.

"Morning" He chirped.

"Hj? What are you doing here?" Akatsuki said, voice was shaking. "How did you know I was here?" Madeline and Francis came down too, wondering what the commotion was about.

"I DID kidnap Francis, y'know." He retorted matter-of-factly. Hj caught Madeline and Francis from the corner of his eye, and turned to them, a bounce in his step, revealing the earrings which adorned his left ear. "Hiii, people"

"Um... good morning," Madeline said unsurely, as Francis raised his hands to greet him. "So... what brings you here this early?" Akatsuki asked, still remembering the event that happened yesterday. He still remained cautious.

"Well, you see, I was out for a walk earlier today, accompanied by those lovely ladies out there." He explained, and pointed at the window, where the mob of fangirls stood, squealing. "Anyways. So, I passed by here, and thought, 'Hey, why not visit? They won't mind.' So, here I am now." Hj grinned, and waved to his fans.

'Why did he assume we won't mind...' Akatsuki thought. "Well um, okay, but who is that person behind you?"

Hj blinked. "Ara? There's someone behind me?" He turned around, only to be bonked on the head by a small, rubber hammer. "...Oh."

A woman, about the same age or older than Hj stood there, a frown gracing her lips. She removed the hammer from his head, swinging her long, honey-brown hair over her shoulder as she watched Hj rub his head, with annoyed jade-green eyes.

"What did I say about running off while you're staying with us in Henesys?" She spoke, a dangerous tone.

"But Jade-nee-chaaaaan.." He whined. "What's the fun if I'm not allowed to do anything without you watching my every move?"

"That reminds me. I'm still quite angry at you for going off on your own without leaving a note, yesterday." She spoke, the annoyance clear in her voice. Hj grumbled something under his breath, but quickly brightened up.

"Nevermind that," He chirped, and pulled Jade by the arm so she was standing infront of Akatsuki. "Jade-nee-chan, This is Aka-chan. Aka-chan, this is my cousin, Jade Pierce."

"Um, hello," Akatsuki said quietly, as he held out his hand in front of Jade, to give a handshake. Madeline came downstairs.

"I'm Madeline, an artist and an assistant to my brother. He is Francis, my brother," she said, as she pointed at Francis, who waved, "and he's a monster anthropologist."

"Nice to meet you all." She greeted, and shook Akatsuki's hand.

"Well anyways, Hj, when and why did you start calling me Aka-chan? It sounds weird..." Akatsuki asked.

"Your name's too long." He replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He probably considered it to be, as well.

"Okay... but what's up with the -chan? Can't you just call me Aka?" He sighed. "Well... forget it. I'm going for a walk."

He tilted his head in confusion, and turned towards Jade, grinning. "I'mma go with him, kay?" Before she could protest, he'd dragged the younger boy out the door, and onto the sidewalk. He shouted an excuse to the fangirls, and walked alongside Akatsuki.

Jade sighed. "Sorry about my cousin.. He's always like this." She apologized to Madeline and Francis. The brunette smiled apologetically, and left the house.

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"Oh... why are you following me?" Akatsuki asked, walking a little faster than awhile ago. "Did you need something?"

"Well, I original purpose was to take a walk anyways, and because you wanted to take a walk as well, I merely tagged along. Simple as that." He replied, walking beside Akatsuki.

"Well alright... but you have to tell me two things... one, Jade's last name... Pierce... is she related to Athena Pierce, by chance?"

"Of course. Athena-han is my aunt."

"Wow... I see. So of course you're an Archer?"

"Nope."

"Then... what class are you?"

"None."

Akatsuki looked at him quizzically. "Is that even possible in this world?"

"Well, if you consider being a gunman as a class..."

"I see. Oh, and my second question is, how do you have a gun, like me? Certainly you know these weapons are illegal."

"My, you're certainly very forward, asking someone who you've met twice, his past."

"I'm just really curious how you have one. There are only ten in the world... and you carry one, like me. Even if you have a point that I don't really know you, I still want to know this mystery. So please, tell me."

"Meh. I got it at a really young age, that's all you need to know." He muttered. "If you wanna know more, you're gonna have to find out yourself."

Akatsuki stopped asking questions, and started thinking as he continued walking, both hands in his pocket. He remembered when he got the gun, when he just stole it and ran. He wondered how Hj got his...

Hj had since then started walking with a bounce in his steps, whistling.

All of a sudden, Hj stopped whistling, and halted. He stared at a group of people infront of them blocking the path. They were all dressed with at least one chain, and a tattoo. Some wore sunglasses, while others held a cigar between their teeth. Their clothing consisted mostly of black, as well. The blue-head walked up to them.

"Ne, mind moving outta the way?" He asked politely, albeit a bit childishly.

"Actually, we'd prefer if you moved." One said. Apparently, the leader.

"I moved so I was able to get your attention, did I not?" He contradicted.

"Hah. Guys, look. A transvestite with an attitude problem." the leader said.

The gunman rose an eyebrow. "That's not very nice."

"Then tell us, oh mighty she-man, are you going to continue walking in our territory, or are you going to leave like a good crossdresser?"

He scoffed, childishness had abandoned him a good while ago. "Please, a gradeschooler could come up with something better than that. Try again."

Akatsuki just stood there, quietly, trying not to get involved in this quarrel.

"Then learn me in the art of insults, and then leave. Will you be satisfied that way?"

"Leave? I think not. Though it would be a wise choice for you to relearn the ways of insult. Of course, I'll start off slow. With a brain-- No, the lack of a brain like yours, it already takes forever for a single word to register."

The leader scowled. "Okay, I think it's my turn to teach you a lesson!" He threw a fist at the blue-head. The force of the blow sent him flying back, crashing into a lamppost. A drop of blood trinkled down Hj's lips. He wiped it away, and looked up at the leader imperiously, with a disgust as if he was a bug.

"All brawn and no brain, ne?" He stated in a cocky manner. "Then so be it. But, now it's my turn."

His hand, hidden by the overly long sleeve shot up, revealing the jet black pistol- Beretta 92FS. Gunshots ran through the air. Suddenly, three of the members were down, blood pouring from a fresh wound in their skull.

The others stared in shock. "YOU SON OF A BITCH!" one yelled, charging at the blue-haired gunman. The others followed suit.

He plastered a looked of boredom on his face, an dodged him with ease. A click. Cold metal pressing against the brute's neck, and a slightly muffled gunshot. More shots ran though the air, each one followed by the collapse of one of the attackers.

Hj pointed the gun at him, and pulled the trigger. A click. Then, nothing. He blinked and realized he was out of ammunition. Cursing at his bad luck, he put away the gun and pulled out a paper thin projectile. Green, black and white dominating its appearence. From the way his arm was positioned, one could easily see the glove covering his hand, as if a second skin. The body, a milky white, was fingerless, adorned by sapphire knuckles. A silver wristguard was slightly visible from behind the sleeve. Within the blink of an eye, the projectile had flew from his hand and lodged itself into the boss' neck.

He fell over, obviously dead.

Putting his arm down, the blue-head kicked away a corpse in disgust, and made his way over to Akatsuki. "Et voila. I win, fatally."

Akatsuki was speechless. His fighting technique, it was flawless. The use of his gun, the poisoning; absolutely amazing.

"That was amazing," He gasped in awe, while he voiced his thoughts. Immediately, though, his face twisted into a look of sheer anger. "But absolutely malevolent! Why are you massacring everybody? There was no need to!"

He scoffed, like he often did. "Quite the law-abiding good citizen, now are we?"

"You didn't have to kill them, did you?" Akatsuki continued to reason. "Carrying that gun you just used is bad enough... but using it for murder? That's even worse! If everyone in the world was as insensitive as you, the human race would've been done for long before our time!!!"

Hj was unfazed by the yelling fifteen-year-old infront of him. "Really, now? And this is coming from someone who, like me, also carries a gun? Someone who'd also commited to murder before? If you call this a massacre, then you've seen nothing yet. Let me teach you something, Aka-chan. In this world, it's killed or be killed. That's the way I've always lived, and it's the way I'll continue to live. You, too, are gonna havta live with it, if you plan on keeping that revolver of yours."

Akatsuki was speechless. All this was correct. How he carries the gun, how he murdered somebody with it. He had no right to say what Hj was doing was wrong. Then, something caught his attention.

"Wait... Hj, how did you know I killed somebody?" The reply was sweet and simple.

"I was there."

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A/N : Yay, cliffie! So, what didja guys think about this chapter? Constructive critism is always appreciated!

-Till next time, the OUaRM team. (Glacier123, Hjiscool, BloodyHanyou)


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